Family, friends, and addiction recovery professionals are essential to help you avoid triggers whenever possible, and provide you with the right coping mechanisms to guide you through these episodes. Cravings are normal, common, types of relapse triggers and often uncontrollable urges that do not point to a person’s moral failing. Just like a dieter who wants a piece of chocolate cake, cravings happen to most, if not all, patients in recovery from substance use disorders.

At New Choices Treatment Centers, we know that recovery isn’t about getting a certificate, it’s about finding new ways to approach life’s problems. Our Camino Pathways Program builds a personalized treatment program that will provide you all the tools you need to transform your life.

Learning from Setbacks

API is a private, physician-owned behavioral health system offering inpatient and outpatient psychiatric and substance use disorder services. We are dedicated to the wellness of individuals, their families, and our community through prevention, intervention, and treatment in a safe and culturally sensitive environment. Even though you’ll want to place some distance between you and your old friends, staying connected to people is a critical part of staying sober.

Avoid going into situations alone where you are at high risk of relapse. You might be surprised how quickly your resolve and good intentions disappear once the party’s started.

What Are the Most Common Relapse Triggers?

Brain scans have shown that these triggers are tied to your neurochemistry, activating the key parts of your brain that lead to the desire to use. Substance use disorders and drug use change the way the brain works. If you’re in recovery and experiencing a craving, you’re taken back to the time when substance use brought you pleasure, and your brain pays no attention to all the ways it caused harm. Dysfunctional family dynamics, childhood abuse, or trauma can set into motion coping mechanisms that later develop into substance abuse. One of the biggest obstacles people face when they are suffering from a substance use disorder are triggers that cause relapses. Dr. Ashish Bhatt, MD explains how to recognize these triggers and avoid relapse. Triggers are easily identifiable by the way someone reacts to something.

So, try journaling, meditating, or even praying when you are feeling negative. Find a healthy way to release your negativity and boost your mood. An addictions specialist or another mental health professional can help you develop additional coping strategies. It’s not uncommon for people who struggle with addictions to relapse at least once during recovery. Some even fall off the wagon several times before getting sober for the last time.